After wandering for several moondances, Cat's tribe found the Holt Forest. They were a wolf-blooded tribe, and immediately felt at home in the thick, pristine forest with its wondrously tall and ancient trees. They could find no trace that humans had ever been there, and in fact the only traces of other beings that they did find were those of elves, possibly High Ones.

These faint traces drew the tribe to the center of the forest where they discovered an old half-destroyed structure, almost like a cave, formed completely of trees. Much to their surprise the tree cave itself held traces of Elvin magic. They knew even before calling a council that they were home.

Aspen, the treeshaper, formed the Grotto, using the trees from the surrounding clearing, and "borrowing" the shape of the original structure. Utilizing the natural opening of the clearing as the entrance to her creation, she bent and fused the trees to match an image in her mind, creating a large enclosure. Great pains were taken to make the Grotto appear to be a natural occurrence, in order to deter unwanted attention.

The heavy tree limbs, covered with mosses, were extended skyward from all directions to hide the nature of their new home. The soaring crowns entangled to make a sort of lattice style covering, allowing light and air into the Grotto, without leaving the inhabitants open to too much weather. The height inside the Grotto was left at roughly twice that of the tribe’s tallest elf at the time, and dens were then shaped around the circumference of the Grotto, in many cases fusing two tree trunks together and creating ‘caves’ inside for living space and storage. At the present time, the Grotto is no where near filled, many ‘dens’ are unoccupied.

Large enough to accommodate the family or individual that lives there, dens also have sufficient room to keep possessions, weapons, etc. They are, on occasion, a little larger than the typical wolfrider den, having more height as well as width. Tree trunks and shaped wooden pillars within the Grotto help to create dividing walls, where hides can be stretched and laced between them. There is privacy for each den and its occupants, but in such an open society, intimacy is a way of life.

Inside the Grotto the floor is dirt, but at the very center is a raised floor made of wood. In its center it holds the main fire pit, banked in stone, and it is large enough for the entire tribe to gather. Furs are kept here for comfort and warmth. Sometimes, when the weather is too bad for Howls to be held at Basin Rock, the tribe and pack gather here.

For the most part, everyone resides within the Grotto, [with one notable exception] although on warm summer nights it is not unknown for elves to sleep out by Basin Rock to catch a breeze and sleep under the stars. The option does exist for a tribe member to live in a tree-den somewhere outside the Grotto, but none have taken that option, yet. There is safety in numbers, after all...